Sora then looks down
" just when I thought I finally caught up with Riku. He is gone and slipped off again already. But i suppose it could had been a lot worse , at least he is not injured. "
" Anyway Noctis , don't say anything about what I just told you to Donald and Goofy. "
" I won't "
Gladiolus also opts out saying that there is something he wanted to do.
" alright do what you have to then "
" you know me well " Gladiolus responds as he then takes his leave.
Sora , Donald and Goofy also opt to stay behind wanting a break from all the battles and hunts up to now. Knowing Riku is safe had put his heart at ease but Kairi is now unaccounted for.
Noctis , Prompto and Ignis then journey to find the Mythril.
" the waterfall cave is right around here "
" that means the lake should be somewhere north of here "
" be wary though , where we go the empire seems to follow "
As the group approaches the gate in their Regalia , the door seems to open on its own.
" wait , what happened to 'under imperial lockdown' "
" they all but turned the key and left it open for us. as if awaiting our arrival "
" If anyone is waiting for us , I bet is that guy "
" Chancellor Izunia "
" can't complain as long as he lets us in "
" who's to say he will let us out "
" not to mention we are a man down and Sora and the others wanted to take a break. Would that the marshal were with us. "
" oh , yeah what happened to that guy "
" As I understand he put tomb raiding on hold to take care of some troublesome beasts with the hunters. "
" No rest for the immortal "
They run into Ardyn, who explains that while he may be chancellor, he is not in charge of the army. Tipping the party off to the mythril's location in nearby Steyliff Grove ruins, Ardyn departs. The party is accompanied by Aranea Highwind who is increasingly skeptical of the empire's goals, as the imperials are hunting for daemons in the area.
Daemons are magical creatures of the dark that spawn during the darkest hours of the day. Insomnia had always been safe from them due to the light of the Crystal and the Wall, but the daemons are growing fiercer and more numerous. Aranea explains the empire is hunting for daemons to be used to make magitek troops. She thinks of leaving the army and returning to being a mercenary.
They recover the mythril from the depths of the ruins and hitch a ride back to Lestallum on an imperial airship with Aranea's aid. She wishes Noctis well, advising him to choose his own path in life.
Having been overpowered by Ravus at Aracheole Stronghold, Gladiolus worries that he is not strong enough to protect Noctis. While the rest of the party searches for mythril to repair the boat, Gladiolus leaves to train and prove that he is worthy of protecting the Chosen King.
Thirty years ago ancient ruins were discovered in Lucis. In their deepest recesses awaits the Blademaster, Gilgamesh, who once held Gladiolus's role as Shield of the Founder King, and his soul has remained to challenge those who seek him for 2,000 years. Many attempts had been made to explore the ruins, but every expedition ended in failure and the deaths of everyone involved except for one man: Cor Leonis, earning him his title of Immortal. Gladiolus meets with Cor and tells him that he wishes to undertake the trial of Gilgamesh. Cor supports Gladiolus through the Tempering Grounds ruins, but the former must take on the trials alone.
Gladiolus wins against Gilgamesh who recognizes Gladiolus as being worthy of being the Shield of the True King, seeing Gladiolus's only fear is that he should be too weak to protect Noctis. Gilgamesh reveals he had lost his arm to Cor, and yields Cor's katana, the Genji Blade, to Gladiolus. Gladiolus and Cor leave the ruins with Gladiolus indirectly passing on the praise Gilgamesh had said about Cor. Gladiolus returns to the others and shows off his battle spoils at the campsite.
At Cape Caem Sora wonders if there is a way for them to ever get off world with the Gummi ship destroyed getting off world seem impossible. Again Jiminy Cricket offers his services.
" perhaps we should call Chip and Dale and let them know where we are at as well as our situation. "
They then take a Gummiphone to call home. On the other side the two chipmunks answer
" what happened we been trying to contact you for days , and these been getting no transmission as well we cannot call in. But for some reason you can contact us. "
" well I think is something to do with the world we are on , the instant we got close the systems begin to shut down " Goofy answered and Donald then told him to keep it down in case others are listening.
" we have a problem though our Gummi ship is crashed and we cannot fix it so we are stranded " Donald then adds.
" Don't worry about that , we will be there in a jiffy "
" ok , be careful though "
Chip and Dale then locate the coordinates where the Gummiship lost contact finding it at Eos.
" this can be a problem "
" this is a world different from the others "
Eos is a world that lies on the boundary between the Realms of Light and Darkness. Few worlds exist within it, and most have some special nature or purpose. The forces of Light and Darkness hold no power in this world.
" We should contact Yen Sid first " Chip and Dale then decide together. Chip and Dale then take off in their mini Gummi Ship to visit Yen Sid at the tower. Climbing up on the table they then greet him.
" we have a problem , the Gummi ship Donald and Goofy had been using is been located but they are trapped on the world they are on. That world is known as Eos. "
" I see you are wise to come see me before going , that world is special it lies in the realm between. It also does not have a keyhole , its heart is a crystal. Your best bet is to use a warp to get yourself on the surface and leave the ship in orbit. Or use a fragment of the crystal in the ship's drive. "